Ansar al-Islam

Ansar al-Islam was a Salafist insurgent group based in Halabja Governorate in northeastern Iraq on the border with Iran, operating in Iraqi Kurdistan and imposing sharia in villages under its control. The group was formed by Mullah Krekar in September 2001, consisting of both Kurds and Arabs, and the group waged an insurgency against the Iraqi government and MNF-I coalition forces during the Iraq War, being affiliated with al-Qaeda. On 29 August 2014, the group announced its merger with the Islamic State during the Iraqi Civil War with its 1,300+ fighters.